Team effort helps Nantes take the points in Chekhov
After delivering a defensive masterclass at home against GOG last week, Nantes pulled off a strong offensive performance to take the two points in Russia tonight.
On the back of a very strong first half, in which they scored twenty goals, Nantes cruised away after the break, retaining their advantage without ever being threatened.
GROUP B :
Chekhovskie Medvedi (RUS) vs HBC Nantes (FRA) 31:35 (15:20)
- The first half was very much a team effort for Nantes, as eleven players scored at least once in the first thirty minutes. On the back of a strong start, the French side retained its five-goal advantage taken early in the game until the break, which it reached leading 20 to 15.
- Despite strengthening their defence after the break, Chekhov were never in the position to turn things around. The Russian side only managed to come back within three, but Emil Nielsen stopped enough shots to put Nantes out of harm’s way.
- Five players scored six goals tonight : three for Chekhov (Alexander Kotov, Kirill Kotov, Ermakov) and two for Nantes (Balaguer, Rivera).
- Nantes are now top of the group with six points, while Chekhov remain last, having yet to take a point.
Nantes, a proper team performance
It is very rare for a team to see its fourteen players score at least one goal each, especially in the European League. But that is what Nantes pulled off tonight, with only Rok Ovnicek out of the scorers' list at the break. If Alexandre Cavalcanti and Thibaud Briet were in the spotlight before the break, scoring a combined seven goals, wingers Valero Rivera and David Balaguer powered through after the break to give Nantes their third win in the group phase.
We are very happy to get two points. They are very important to us. We were preparing for a difficult game in Chekhov. In the second half, the "Bears" began to break the game, but we were able to hold on.
